Germany's Central Bank is Hosting a Blockchain Conference

Germany’s central bank is hosting a four-day conference on blockchain this week.

Dubbed “Blockchain Technology – Opportunities and Challenges”, the event is being organized by the Deutsche Bundesbank in partnership with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. Topics up for debate include the future of bitcoin and applications of the tech in both finance and beyond.’

The event is drawing attendees from regulatory bodies like the Bundesbank, the European Central Bank and the Prudential Regulation Authority, as well as startups like Monax, Digital Asset Holdings, Ripple and R3.

The Bundesbank said in a statement:

“This workshop addresses technological achievements of Blockchain and possible business cases especially in the financial sector. It tries to answer the question whether Bitcoin has a future in payments and illustrates examples for a possible use of Blockchain Technology.”

The Bundesbank has called the for regulation of bitcoin in the past, with Deutsche Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele describing the digital currency as a vehicle for speculation in a 2014 interview. More recently, board member Andreas Dombret opined that the technology could deliver significant efficiency gains but likely won’t replace the institutions that may one day adopt it.